Snakes
by A Wise Owl
Summary: A fluff story about two brothers of Asgard and their encounter with snakes. Includes the origins of Loki's legendary helmet and Thor learning what the word "mischief" means. Simple, mostly happy and humorous.


**This is a simple fluff three-part story about two brothers of Asgard and their encounters with snakes. Simple and heart-warming.**

 **The first part deals with the boys as toddlers. The second part is about the time when they were eight years old. The last one follows the brothers as adults.**

 **Lately, I have found myself unable to continue my angst stories with real angst because I need Loki to be happy (don't we all?). So this is the result. Enjoy :)**

* * *

The eight-years-old Thor was walking around the corridors of the Asgardian Palace. He was looking for his little brother.

Loki had tried to show him a new trick that their mother had taught him. However, Thor's friends came at the same time and Thor left with them to practice. Loki said that he didn't mind but ruminating about the situation now, Thor knew that Loki only said so to look as if he didn't care. But deep down he did.

Thor felt guilty. This wasn't the first time he abandoned Loki because of his friends. Thor didn't fully comprehend why he always chose his friends over Loki, but the truth was that he always did. Thor couldn't resist a good fight and surely Loki knew that he meant the world to him.

Didn't he?

Lost in his thoughts, Thor was blindly wandering around the palace when a hiss attracted his attention.

In front of Thor, there was a beautiful, green snake. His body was long and lean, his smooth skin flawless. His head was lazily rested upon his tail, his void-dark eyes staring at Thor with a sparkling interest.

"Hello, beautiful." Thor smiled at the snake with an unusual tenderness in his voice.

Thor has always loved snakes. He remembered meeting a snake by accident in mother's garden when he was just a toddler.

…

Thor put the snake around his shoulders and excitedly ran to Frigga.

"Mum, look!" Thor shouted at the Queen.

Most mothers would panic upon seeing a huge snake around their son's shoulders. This was, however, Frigga, a fearless warrior.

"Where did you find this little fellow, Thor?" She asked her son only.

Meanwhile, Loki was playing with a picture book.

"Over there in the garden." Thor answered happily. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" He looked at Frigga with such puppy eyes that the Queen could do nothing else but to agree with him.

"He is going to become my friend, mum. Not my best friend, of course. Loki is my best friend. But I think my friend number two."

Hearing his name, Loki ceased playing with his book and glanced at Thor with his beautiful, bright eyes.

"Would you like to hold him, brother?" Thor asked Loki who nodded enthusiastically.

When Thor brought the snake to the little Loki, the raven-haired baby boy carefully extended his arm to touch him. As the little prince's hand reached his smooth skin, Loki was surprised at first but soon he happily petted the animal.

When Thor tried to put the snake back around his shoulders, the serpent bit him in his fingertip. Obviously, the snake didn't like being taken away from Loki. Thor flinched and looked accusatively at the animal. The snake gave Thor such an innocent look that Frigga began laughing.

"Such a mischievous little creature." She said jokingly.

"What does mischievous mean?" Thor asked confused.

"It means that you do something bad to make other people laugh or with innocuous…I mean innocent intentions."

"Isn't it dangerous?" Thor wondered. "What if people think that you did the bad thing because you are evil, not because you want to make them smile?"

Surprised, Frigga eyed her young son.

"That is very true, Thor."

"Anyway, he is a good mischievous second friend of mine. How should I call him?" Thor was thinking out loud.

"Loki, brother, how should I call our new friend?"

Loki, who went back to his book, looked up again.

"What are you doing there, brother?" Thor asked and moved to examine Loki's book. He saw that Loki was studying a children encyclopaedia of animals, specifically a section about cows.

"Cows? Do you like cows, Loki?" Thor was confused.

Loki only smiled and nodded.

"But what do you like about them, brother? They only stand all day and eat grass and…" But before Thor could finish the sentence, Loki pointed with his tiny finger at one picture. Curious, Thor followed his gesture to see what Loki was pointing at.

"The horns? You like their horns?" Thor laughed. Seeing his brother laughing and not taking him seriously, baby Loki began crying.

"Thor!" Frigga admonished her older son.

"I am sorry, Loki." Thor started apologising immediately. "You're right. The horns are…great! They are signs of a true warrior!" Thor announced with confidence and Loki immediately ceased crying. Frigga suspected that he may have been crying only for the effect.

Noticing that his brother looked fine once again, Thor returned to his original question.

"So how do we call him, brother?" Thor asked once again.

"Horns." Loki said happily.

"Horns?" Thor repeated clearly baffled.

"By Odin's beard!" Frigga exclaimed. "His first word!" She took baby Loki into her arms and lifted him over her head. Loki started laughing and kept repeating his first word. After a while, Loki eyed Thor and Frigga put him down.

Loki lifted his small palm and put it onto the snake's head.

"Horns" He repeated and grinned widely.

Thor started laughing.

"It is decided then. We will call him the Horn." Thor announced, and Loki began clapping happily.

"Should we play with him, brother?" Thor teased and let the snake on the ground. Immediately, the Horn slithered somewhere in between the Queen's roses.

"Mum?" Thor asked in a small voice. "The Horn will come back, won't he?"

Frigga smiled tenderly at her sons.

"Of course, darling. He may be a mischievous little creature, but I am sure he already loves you dearly."

* * *

 **Part Two coming soon.**


End file.
